What is “The Council”?

A conversation with senior member Leylany Rodriguez-Castañeda

By Yasmin Miranda and Paola Navarro, Staff Reporters

November, 2021

Have you seen the slides in homeroom advertising something called “the Council”? Have you wondered what the Council is?

The Council is a club that focuses on helping freshmen and sophomores who might struggle paying attention in class or adapting to the high school environment. In addition, the council acts as a support group for students; they assist students whenever they need to clear their head, step out, or when they’re having a bad day. Most importantly, the council works to help underclassmen avoid suspensions or consequences can harm their academic or social progress. We interviewed senior Leylany Rodriguez-Castañeda, a member of the Council, to get more insight about the group’s roles and responsibilities. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

How did you get into the Council?

 Leylany Rodriguez-Castañeda: At first they told me it was teacher-selected. After that I got an invitation last year from Ms. Oxner and I had to fill out certain information like a survey to apply. But in the end it was Oxner’s choice. 

How does the Council help underclassmen? 

LRC: They bring underclassmen in for a community circle, they talk about issues they deal with a lot in school. For example some students say “my work is not enough” so they get sent out of class. The Council sits down and listens to them and in return they give them advice on how to cope with a teacher that can be harsh with them. They’ll eventually take the ACT and AP courses their senior year and [we] don’t want them to feel once they are there that they don’t have any support or that it is too much work for them.

Are the members the ones that talk to the students? 

LRC: There’s a group of four to five people, and one person goes a week before they meet with a student and asks for background information, things they need to know before the discussion. There’s a member who’s recording, and then someone else asking questions and the rest of the members are listening. So mainly a member is talking with the student while the teacher is mainly supervising.

What do you mostly enjoy about being a member of the Council? 

LR: The Council barely started. We haven’t had our first meeting yet with the students but so far I do like that the Council was built to help kids stay in class rather than to take them out because I really think that a punishment system is bad. For example, when a student does something bad sometimes the whole class has to get punished, I really thought that was unfair. When Oxner reached out to me I really took the opportunity to get in the Council so I could change those types of rules. Something that I also disliked was when students did something small it automatically turned into “Go see your grade level AP,”  so the Council is helping a lot with that.

When was the council created? 

LR: This is my first year but it has been around in prior years. It’s not only seniors, it could also be juniors. There’s also spots that members have like president, vice president, officer, chiefs, and staff. My spot is only being a member. 

What is something you would change about the council? 

LR: I would have liked it if the meeting started earlier in the year like when NHS, and SNHS started because I am also part of those clubs. That’s why my schedule got a bit messed up because I had meetings the day the Council would meet as well.